Tower



Apr. l0, 1923. v l 1,451,259

N. T. HARRINGTON TOWER 3 sheets-sheet 2 Filed June 14,- 1920 Apr'. 10, 1923,

N. T. HARRINGTON TOWER vFiled rune 14, 1920 5 sheet's-sheet 5 Patented Apr. li, 1923.

NORMAN T. HARRINGTON, F CLEVELAND, OHIO.'

TOWER.

Application ined June 14, 192e. serial No. $8,909.

To all whom it may conce/m.'

Be it known that l, NORMAN T. HAR- RrNGToN, a citizen of the United States, re-

siding at Cleveland, in the county of Cuy-l ahoga and State 0f Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Towers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to load handling systems or apparatus, and more particularly to a system or apparatus of the type wherein the load handling device is movable along a cableway supported at at least one end by a rocking tower. The apparatus or system disclosed herein is particularly well adapted for the use of a single tower wherein the cableway is anchored at one end` to a fixed point, its other end being connected to a rocking tower. Y

One of the objects of the invention is so to support a single rocking tower having a cableway connected to its upper en'd or por-"n` tion, as well as the said cableway, as to maintain the distance between such point of connection and the fixed anchor for they opposite end of the cableway substantially invariable. This enables the tower to rock without, 0n the one hand placing an undue strain upon the cableway and the parts connected thereto, or, upon the other hand, slacking the cableway during such rocking movement, and hence causing the cableway to sag and unnecessarily limit the height of "2 the pile 0n which the 'bucket' or other load handling device, operates.

As to this object, the invention consists,`

more limitedly, not only in enabling 'the tower to rock without varying materially the distance between the anchorfor the cableway and its point of attachment to the tower, but without materially varying the distance between the anchor for the guy or hold-down cable or cables and the point ot" attachment thereof to the tower. In fact, so far as the rocking of the tower is concerned, in connection with the cableway and the guy or hold-down cable or cables, the

`effect produced'is'the same as if the cablefrom the tower.

handling deviceis near the tower, the counmounting the tower, thearrangement of the anchors for the cableway and hold-do-wn cables or guy,'and by giving to the supporting rails for the rocking tower base a conliguration which will impart to the point of attachment of the cableway and guy or holddown cables a movement or movements capable of maintaining the distance from their respective points ot' attachment to their re'- spective anchors substantially constant.

A further object of the invention is to provide a tower ot' this character with a counterweight so connected to the bucket or load handling deviceas to render substantially constant the torce `or effort tending to overturn the tower, whentilted, as the said bucket or device moves toward and away` W'hen the bucket or load terweight is ineffective;` as the bucket or load handling device moves away from the tower, the counterweight passes above its center of gravity 'and adds its overturning effort. to the overturning effort of the bucket, which is diminished by its distance from the tower. The use of this constant overturningv effort enables me to employ with the base of the tower a fixed counterweight :tor the tower, the movable bucket and the` cableway, (the sum of whose overturningk efforts or moments are constant.) f Referring tothe drawings, Fig. l represents a side elevation of -a system or appa- 'i ratus embodying my invention; Fig. 2 an end elevation of the same; Fig. 3 a plan view of the same; Fig. 1 a detail'in elevation of one ofA the rails; Fig. 5 a diagrammatic view representingthe paths approximately described by the point or points of attachment of the cab-leway and guy or chold-down cable or cables to the tower; and` Fig. 6 a detail in elevation of the tower base and its support.

Describing the various parts by reference characters, l denotes generally a tower haw ing a segmental ycounterweighted base 2 provided with ay pair of segmental tracks 3, each cooperating with 'a lrail/1:. The segmental tracks or bearings 'are `described `from the point 5 as a center. The tracks-l are carried by a suitable base 6 which is jin--` clined upwardly toward but above the fixed support for-the cableway,iwith the result that the rails 4, which are 'shown herein as projecting an equal distance above'such weight torthe tower, the movable cable'way,

the load handling device,.and the various partsy connected thereto.

yLocatedin 'any convenient position is a drum 8. `Wound upon this drum and extending in opposite directions therei'rom is a ycable 9, tlieleads or branches ot said cable extending each about'the lower sheaves 10 and the upper sheaves 11r ot a tackle. The lower blocks or sheaves of each tackle are supported in the upper end'ot a yoke'12, the

. lower end whereof is su orted u on a pivot 13V extending inthe direction ot the rails 4, the axis ot' 4each such :pivot being in the same linclined plane (indicatedby the line which includes`v the tops ot' said rails, saidif'pivots being` equidistant from the center Ot' the tower when the latter is in its vertical'position. The upperblocks 1l ot both'tackles Aare pivotally connected to a common point 14 near the top ot the tower, as'by'means'ot suitable supporting` straps or brackets 15. `The drum 8 is preferably disposed' 'midway between the yokes 12 in the'central vertical plane through the tower and be mounted upon any suitable support. By applying` power to the drum S, one v part ofthe cable 9 will be wound upon the' drum while the other part is unwound, thus enabling the tower to be rocked in opposite directions upon the rails 4.

For the purpose ot holding down the to'wer'andipreventing it from beingl overturned 'by the 'cableway andthe load thereupon, I' employ aguy in the shape ot a plurality othold-down cables. This-guy, indicated generally at 16, consists of a plurality of" cables each extending about a sheave 17 which sheaves are pivotally supported upon av common axis near 'the top et the tower, the opposite en ds ot each cable being anchored each in a yoke 18 having'its lower end supported on a pivot 19 extending' in the direction ot the rails 4and lo-` cated in the inclined plane includingthe upper surfaces of'said rails and the pivots 1S. The anchors for the cables are located adiacenteach to one ot the foci ot' an ellipse which is approximately described by the point ot attachment 'ot the sheaves 17 to the tower. as the lat-ter rocks. With this arrangement. assuming that the point of attachment describes a substantially velliptical pathduring the rockingf of the tower, the sums oi thelengths ofthe cables on each side ot the sheaves will be constant, so that the said cables may exercise etticiently their function ot holding down the tower and preventing it from falling` unduly toward the cableway anchor during` its rocking movements.

20 denotes a cableway which is shown yas connected at one end to the top ot the tower and at its opposite end to a fixed anchor 21, preferably located in a plane at right angles to the center vertical line ot the tower when the latter is in its vertical position. rEhe anchor 21 is located belowA the inclined plane,indicated by the line :v -m, rwhich includes the tops of therails 4 and pivots and 19, and which isV perpendicular to the vertical center line ot the tower a distance to be determinedv by considerations pointedv out hereinafter. Beneath the cableway 2O is the pile of material 22 which is to beoperated upon by the' load handling device, shown asa bucket 23, mounted on said cableway. This bucket is of ordinary construction and some of the operating lines therefor are indicated at 24 and 25, it being understood that the bucket will be provided withfthe usual opening, closing and travel lines.

Connected to the carriage tor the bucket is aline or cable 26 which 'extends over sheave 27 near the upper end ot the tower and adjacentt'o the cableway 20, thisline or cable bel'n'gconnect'ed toa counterweight 28, movable in vertical ,quidcways 29-o'n the sol that the 'counterweig'ht may move troni the center ot gravity ot the 'tower to the upper block 31 as the bucket moves trom the vupper end of the tower'to the fanchor 21; in other words, the movement ot' the counterweight is thusmade proportional to the movement et the bu'cketand will' cove-r, in its range of movement 'between the center of gravity andthe top of' theV tower, the entire rangeV ot movement ot the bucket. 'It will be evident that, as the tower is rocked and the bucket is' near the upper end of the tower, it isexertingat such times a maximum torce-or effort tendingto overturn the tower against the resistance of the guy 16 and that, when the bucket is adjacent to 'the anchor 21, it is exerting-a minimum torce or effort tending' to overturn such tower; also that, in intermediate positions, itis exertingan overturning .torce or effort which varies inversely with its distance from the top of the tower. moves in such manner as to compensate tor this variation in the overturning-'torce or effort exerted ybv `the bucket, the joint torce or effort exerted by the bucket and the counterweirqjht in a direction to overturn vthe The counterweig'ht 2Sv tower being constant for the same positionof the tower. This enables me to employ the' bucket 23 and as much o'l the load carried.

thereby as may be advisable.

It will be evident that .it is extremely desirable, it' not necessary, that the length ot the cableway 2O shall be substantially invariable during the rocking of the tower in order to revent, on one hand, the breaking of the calolcway, either of its supports, the hold-down cable, or the tower and, on the other hand, the undue sagging oit the cableway which would `result in inericiently limiting the height ot' the pile 22 on which the bucket operates. At the same time, it is equally evident that the sums of the lengths of the cable branches extending in opposite directions from the sheaves 17 should be Sub-- stantially constant in order to enable the said cables to support the tower against talling unduly toward the iiXed anchor 21. The manner in which l secure this result is shown in Figs. 4 and 5. In the latter figure the tower is indicated as rocking upon the base 6, the point or" attachment ot the cableway (which may be considered as substantially coincident with the point of attachment of the vhold-down cables) being indicated at a. As has been pointed out in my application No. 345,755', a point above the center of rotation ot a rocking tower supported in the manner shown herein describes a cycloidal curve which closely approximates an ellipse. ln order to enable such point to approximate more closely to and substantially coincide with an ellipse, the rails 4 are given a conguration such as shown in Fig. 4. This contour will cause the paths traveled by the points ot attachment ot' the hold-down cables and or the I cableway to coincide each substantially with way) will be constant as the., tower rocks.'

Such a cone will be described ,by extending downwardly the central vertical line g/-y of the tower to a point w at which a line Lo-.e

drawn at right angles thereto will intersect the anchor point 21, the line w-e constituting the airis of the cone. However, it is desirablel to locate the anchors for the holddown cables or guy above ground. This l accomplish by the 1use of a rocking tower.

wherein the points of attachment of the cableway and of the hold-down cablesv are causedI tocoincide very closely with the circumierenceot a cone described'in the man-l ner set Vlorth. By giving to the' rails the coniiguration suc-h as shown, the sumsof the lengths ot the branches of the holddown cables will be substantially constant, and the base of the tower can not be litted from either `ol its rails during its rocking movements. But the elliptical path described by the point of attachment of the cableway to the tower does not coincide exactly with the circumference of the base of thecone. By pivoting the tower at the point 7, the excess length in the guy 0r hold-down cables, due tothe elliptical path, is allowed to be taken up by the shortage in the cableway. This slight 'error `in the length of the cableway is, however, corrected by the configuration of the rails in which the rocking'base 2 is mounted.

.lt will be noted that the plane in which the tower Aswings is inclined away `from the anchor 21 so that the line fw-e which is per pendicular to said plane extends vfrom a pointbelow the base 6.l This enables me to inount the anchors 13, 19 and 21 above or at the surface of the ground and at the same time to approximate the circumference ot the base of a cone by the path of movement of the point or points of attachment of the cableway and hold-down cables to the tower. l

I have found that, with the point of attachinent-a of a cableway approximately rone hundred :te-et above thefbase of the tower (or above the baseline Zi) the are oiE a circle described from a point w on theline y-fw about twenty one feet seven inches below said base line and below the center of the tower when'thelatter is in vertical po-l sition, will intersect the elliptical'path c described by the point a, 'not only when the tower is in the vertical position, but also when the latteris at its extreme range ot movement (about 600 trom the vertical) yon each side oi such vertical position, as ind-icated at (Z. lt will befobserved that, be-

tween the points. (t and d', the divergence between the arc e of this circle (a part of the circumference of cone) and the curve c is relatively slight, the arc of the circle beingV within the curve c in such intermediate positionswoi" the. tower. 1-compensate `loi" this difference land bring the path described by the point (t more `nearly into coincidence with they arc e by pivoting the tower at the point 7 and by the contigu- `ration of the rails. By locating the anchor 21 at the saine distance ,below the inc-lined plane including the tops of the rails 4 and the pivots 13 and 19, as the distance which the center w ot thearc e is below the base line 7), as the tower rocks upon its base between the vertical and the extreme positions, y

and its 1 the cahleway 20'and vthe cables constitutiiw the guy act gointly upon the upper end or the tower, causing it to rock upon-its pivot i and thus force the point n to assume a po- 1 sition intermediate the lines c and c between the vertical and eine operating positions otthe tower, with the result that the distance between the points 520Q and 2l will be substantially constant and the sums of they l two parts or' the guy lb onheachside of the 7 will 'also be substan- `l the line extending through the anchorage and the center' of rotation or" the tower torming an appreciable angle with the ground line, and la hold-down cable extending from a bearii f point on the tower to points on pposits sides oiC the central vertical plane on` the tower, the anchoring points ott-he cable way and the anchoring` points of the hold- Adown cable being; so disposed relatively to the tower that the distance between the anchoring point oithe cable way and its point of attachment to the tower remains substantially inv ile, and that the sum oi the distances between the anchoring points ot' the hold-down cable and its bearing point on the tower remains substantially constant for all angular positions ot the latter.

2. Device according to claim l in which the tower has a segmental rocking base.

3. Device according; to claim l including a rocking' cable extending; from substantially a common pointv ony the tower over Vsheemes anchored on opposite sides of the central vertical plane oi the tower, near points representing` substantially the i'ioci of an ellipse a portion of which corresponds to the curve described by the said common point during the angular motion oi" the tower, and a drum upon which therocking cable is wound.

Device accordinq` to claim l. ii'icluding` connection aftordiiig relative angular movement between at lea-,st the upper part or' the'tower and the rocking` base in the plane oi" the cable way.

5.v Device according` to claim 4. the tower is pivotally mounted on inc: base 6. Device accordingto claim 2 in which the anchoring` point oit the cable way the tower are so disposed relative to one anin which the rockalianzas generatrix ot a conical surface, the point of intersection oi a line from the anchoring point or' the cable way perpendicular to the plane of rotation oi the tower and the said vplane o l rotation being the center of a circle af portion of which substantially corresponds to the curve delined by the point of attachment of the cable wayto the tower.

7. Bevice according` to claim 6 in whichthe ancl'ioring points ot the hold down cable, the anchoringpoints of the rocking cable and the surface ot the support for therocking base lie in a plane which is parallel to the said line from the anchoringpoint of the cable perpendicular to the plane oi' rotation ot the tower.

8. rDevice according to claim 2 a support for the rocking base andy means on the base or the support for modifying the rocking movement of the base. i

9, Device according to claim 8 in which the modifying; means consists of rails curved in the direction oit the rocking movement.

0. The c mbination of a tower having a rockingbase, a cable way attached at one end to the tower and means for anchoring vthe other end of the cable way, said means the tower at its other end, and means ,tor n moving a load along` the cableway, of holddown means and means operative toproduce a substantially constant overturning effort y on the tower while the position ofthe load or the cableway varies.

`13. The combination with a tower,a cableway anchored at one end andL attached to lthe tower at its other end, and means for moving load along the cableway, oit means for` applying; a force to the towerftending to increase its overturning effort and means for varying1 this 'force inversely as the vdistance of the load on the cablcway from the tower varies, the arrangement being,` such that the overturning elort of the tower remains substantially constant.

le. T he vcombination with a tower, a cableway anchored at one end and attached to the tower at its other end` and means for movinga load along' the cahleway, of means connected vwith the load-moving means for applyincj a 'orceto the tower tending to in-v crease its overturning effort, the arrange'- including,`

ment being such that the'said force Avaries inversely as the distance of the load on the cable from the tower varies. 15. The combination, with a tower, of cableway connected at one end to the upper portion of said tower, a hold down cable also connected at one end to the upper portion ot said tower, the said cableway and cable extending in opposite directions from the said tower, anchors for the ends of said cableway` and cable wlnch'are opposed to said tower,

and means supporting said tower to permit the same to rock in directions transverse to located on opposite sides of said tower, a` load handling device movable along said' cableway, means for rocking said tower, and means for supporting said tower whereby the lengt-h oi the cableway and of the hold down cable will be substantially invariable during the rocking movements of the tower.

17. The combination, with a tower, of a cableway connected to the upper lportion of said tower, a hold down cable also connected at one end to the upper portion of said tower, anchors for said cableway and cable located on opposite sides of said tower, a load handling device movable along said cableway, means for rocking lsaid tower, and means tor supporting said tower whereby the point of attachment of the cableway to the tower will describe a curve substantially coinciding with the circumference of the base of a cone whereof the cableway anchor is the apex.

18. The combination7 with a tower, and means `l'or rocking the same, of av cableway connected to the upper portion of said tower, a hold down cable also connected to the upper portion oi said tower and means for supporting the said tower, the said cable and the end ot the cableway which is opposed to said tower to preserve substantially invariable the distance between the supports for the said cable and cableway during the rocking movements of the tower.

19. The combination, with a tower having a rocking base, of a cableway connected at one end to said tower, a hold down cable also connected to said tower, a support for said base, anchors for the ends of the cableway and cable which are opposed to said tower. and a connection between said tower and its base for permitting the tower to rock on said base and toward and from such anchors.

20. The combination, with a tower and means for rocking the same, of a cableway connected to the upper portion of said tower, a load handling device movable along said cableway, and means supporting the said tower and the end of said cableway which is opposed to said tower to preserve substantially invariable the distance between the supports for said cableway during the rockf ing movements of the tower.

21,-The combination, with' a tower and means for rocking the same, of a support on which saidtower rocks and which vis inclined transversely with respect'to the rocking movement of said tower, a cablewaypconnected at one end to4 said `toweran anchor to which the other-end of said -cableway .isy

secured andv located below the plane of such support, and a load handling device movable along said cableway.

22. The combination, witha tower having a rocking base and means for rocking the same, of a support on which said base rocks, a cableway connected at one end to 'said tower, an anchor for the other end of said cableway, a load handling device movablel along said cableway, and apivotal connection between said tower and its base.

23. The combination, with a tower and means for rocking the same, of'a cableway connected to the 4upper portion of said tower, a load handling device movable along said cableway toward and from said tower,

and a counterweight connected to said device and movable with respect to said tower and cooperating with `said device to render substantially constant the effort or force tending to overturn said tower through the joint action oi said device and said counterweight.

24. The combination, with va tower and means for rocking the same, ot' a cableway ioo connected-to said tower, a load handling de-y vice `movable along said cableway and to ward andy :trom the upperportion of said tower, a counterweight movable along said tower and between the top and the center of gravity thereof, and means for connecting said` device and said counterweight tomove the counterweight toward the top of the tower as the said device recedes therefrom, and vice versa.

25. The' combination, with 'atower, and means for rocking the same, of a cableway connect-ed to the upper portion of said tower,

a'load handling device movable along said cableway and toward and from the uppery portion ofsaid tower, a guide extending longitudinally of said tower,a counterweight cooperating with said guides, a sheave connected to the upper portion of said tower, a tackle having its upper block connected to the upper portion of the tower and its movable block connected to said counterweight, and a cable connected to said device and extending over said sheave and about the sheaves in said blocks.

26. The combination, with a tower having I at one end to the upper portion of seid tower, a load handling device movable along seid cablewey toward and from said tower, a counterweight movable longitudinally of said tower end toward and from the top of the same, and means connecting said device and said counterweight whereby the counterweight wiil be moved toward the top oiI the tower es the said device moves away from the same, and vice versa. y

27. The combination, with e rocking base and zii-support upon which seid base may rock, of e'tower pivoted to seid base to pera kmit movement ofthe tower transversely of the end of the cebleway which is opposed to the tower, the support for said base being inclined toward and above the anchor for the cableway, the anchors for the hold downv cable being located substantially` in the inclined plane including said support.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto ali-ix my signature.

Noni/LAN T. HARRINGTON. 

